A decade after one of the 21st century's biggest boy bands was first founded, a quartet of rarity-packed digital EPs is now available to commemorate British pop sensations One Direction.
To mark the exact 10th anniversary of X Factor contestants Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne joining forces as a vocal group (where they ultimately placed third on the singing competition), Sony Music has unearthed and collated some spare tracks from across their career: Acoustic, featuring five stripped-down takes on favorites like "One Thing," "Steal My Girl" and "Night Changes"; Live, offering five tracks from an early date on the band's debut Up All Night Tour; Rarities, offering three mixes of single "You & I" and non-album track "Home"; and Remixes, featuring 14 rare club reconstructions of songs including "Best Song Ever," "Kiss You" and "Drag Me Down." Each is available to stream now.
Combining the can't-miss formula of five clean-cut boys singing and dancing for rapturous teens with more than the usual dash of rock and singer-songwriter sensibilities (live concerts found them strapping on acoustic guitars, and their biggest hits recalled everyone from Journey to Fleetwood Mac), the quintet became overnight powerhouses. Four of their five albums reached No. 1 in either the U.K. and/or the U.S., and 14 of their singles reached the Top 10 in England. (Six of them, including debut single "What Makes You Beautiful," "Live While We're Young," and "Story Of My Life," were U.S. Top 10s as well.)
In 2015, after racking up an impressive shelf of awards including back to back Artist of the Year trophies at the American Music Awards, Zayn Malik announced his departure from the band. The quartet continued with one last album, that year's Made In The A.M., before announcing a hiatus in 2016. Since then, each member has tried their hand at solo work, scoring at least one U.K. Top 10 or U.S. Top 40. (Zayn may have made the biggest initial splash with the chart-topper "Pillowtalk," though Styles' musical eclecticism has enchanted fans, critics and even legendary artists like Stevie Nicks, who compared last year's Fine Line to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.) The boys have always refused to comment on any reunion plans, but 1D enthusiasts have quite the reminder of what makes them beautiful, 10 years later.
The reunion mania follows recent, unrelated news that Simon Cowell, who signed the group to his Syco Entertainment joint venture with Sony Music, is taking his company independent, buying out the label's stake of the film and television division and allowing Sony to retain the rights to the music catalogue.
Peruse the track lists and stream each EP, all available now, at the links below.
Acoustic EP (Syco/Sony Music, 2020)
- One Thing (Acoustic)
- Steal My Girl (Acoustic)
- Steal My Girl (Live Acoustic Session)
- Night Changes (Live Acoustic Session)
- Perfect (Stripped)
Track 1 from "One Thing" digital single - Syco/Sony Music, 2012
Track 2 from "Steal My Girl" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88843 09101-2, 2014
Track 3 from "Night Changes" digital single - Syco/Sony Music, 2014
Track 4 from "Night Changes" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88875 05682-2, 2014
Track 5 from "Perfect" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88875 17624-2, 2015
Live EP (Syco/Sony Music, 2020)
- What Makes You Beautiful (Live @ The Bournemouth International Center, Bournemouth, England - 1/3/2012)
- Gotta Be You (Live @ The Bournemouth International Center, Bournemouth, England - 1/3/2012)
- More Than This (Live @ The Bournemouth International Center, Bournemouth, England - 1/3/2012)
- Up All Night (Live @ The Bournemouth International Center, Bournemouth, England - 1/3/2012)
- I Want (Live @ The Bournemouth International Center, Bournemouth, England - 1/3/2012)
Tracks 1-4 from "More Than This" Australian CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88725 43425-2, 2012
Track 5 from "Live While We're Young" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88725 47306-2, 2012
Rarities EP (Syco/Sony Music, 2020)
- You & I (Radio Edit)
- You & I (Duet Version)
- You & I (Piano Version)
- Home
Tracks 1-3 from "You & I" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88843 07216-2, 2014
Track 4 from "Perfect" digital single - Syco/Sony Music, 2015
Remixes EP (Syco/Sony Music, 2020)
- Gotta Be You (Steve Smart & WestFunk Remix)
- Gotta Be You (Mojam Remix)
- Live While We're Young (Dave Aude Remix)
- Live While We're Young (Jump Smokers Remix)
- Kiss You (Sharoque Remix)
- Best Song Ever (WestFunk & Steve Smart Remix)
- Best Song Ever (Jump Smokers Remix)
- Best Song Ever (Kat Krazy Remix)
- You & I (Big Payno Remix)
- Steal My Girl (88 Ninety's "Raiders Of The Lost Art" Remix)
- Steal My Girl (Big Payno & AFTRHRS Pool Party Remix)
- Night Changes (AFTRHRS Remix)
- Drag Me Down (Big Payno x AFTRHRS Remix feat. LunchMoney Lewis)
- Perfect (Maloma Remix)
Track 1 from DMC Dance Mixes 54, 2011
Tracks 3-4 from "Live While We're Young" digltal single - Syco/Sony Music, 2012
Track 5 from DMC Dance Mixes 82, 2012
Tracks 6-7 from "Best Song Ever" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88883 74965-2, 2013
Track 8 from "Best Song Ever" digital single - Syco/Sony Music, 2013
Track 9 from "You & I" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88843 07216-2, 2014
Tracks 10-11 from "Steal My Girl" digital singles - Syco/Sony Music, 2014
Track 12 from "Night Changes" U.K. CD single - Syco/Sony Music 88875 05682-2, 2014
Tracks 13-14 from "Perfect" digital single - Syco/Sony Music, 2015
Leave a Reply